the role of automated loading as part of a production environment

Where is the additional stock to be located? Is warehouse space available, and is it supported by the required warehouse management system (WMS)? How easily can this additional stock be moved back into the supply chain? What is the overall cost? With signs of economic slow-down globally, is now the time to be adding contingency stock to make products that may not be required? Given the pace of product design innovation, there is a very real risk of stockpiling components that could quickly go out of date.

JIT has transformed operations over the past few decades, allowing companies to eradicate waste and minimise the cost of holding and storing stock. But while supply chain disruption creates clear challenges for tightly integrated assembly processes, problems are not solely linked to glitches in supply and transport. Production lines are incredibly efficient, but pockets of manual operation remain hugely risky. Why, for example, are so many OEMs still relying on manual loading processes, with the attendant need for forklifts and operators, when the impact of component damage is devastating to the bottom line?

For automotive manufacturers, many new components that are now required are extremely expensive and more difficult to handle. Take rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries, which are heavy and can be dangerous, or state-of-the-art touchscreen dashboards, which are highly vulnerable to damage, as they cannot be stacked on top of each other. This creates new challenges when unloading from the manufacturing facility into the assembly line. Many new components also require special protective racking that takes up additional space. Throw JIC into the mix, and a production manager would need to be a magician to seamlessly include these new demands within an ageing plant that is already space constrained.

Supply chains depend on close-knit, reliable partnerships, and with the growing shift towards local sourcing, the way these companies interact must be ever more agile. Every organisation needs confidence in how inventory is managed both internally and by partners to support JIT operations. Gaining certainty in the quality, efficiency, and timeliness of unloading and loading processes will become increasingly important as companies reconsider process optimisation in the face of changing demand and supply.